Manly Men & Girl Friends
by WREIN
Summary: AU TWO-SHOT After a night. Rosette notices something about her best "girl" friend... rated T for safety.
1. Manly Men

**A/N: Hey, thanks for checking out this story it's just a little one-shot I thought of after somebody asked me if I shaved. I know I have another story going on but I just needed a little break so I could think of new ideas. Anyways, Enjoy!**

* * *

**--Manly Men & "Girl" Friends--**

Blearily her eyes opened. She put a hand up to massage her head and closed her eyes as she glanced around the room—the light from the windows wasn't helping her headache any, she thought. She was in a foreign bed in a room she did not remember coming into last night. She'd definitely had _way_ too much to drink, and it was all because of—suddenly the door to the room was opened.

"Rosette?" a voice asked attentively from behind the barely opened door. She glanced over. "Chrono…?" the blonde croaked out. God, the headache was killing her! She pushed harder on her temples.

"How…did I get here?" she asked as Chrono entered the room. His long hair was ruffled a little, as if he'd just woken up, too. He probably had, she thought as she watched his fisted hand wipe at his eyes.

"Uh…" he looked around, "You called me last night from a bar and asked me to pick you up. You don't remember?" As she shook her head she stopped mid-shake, an angry expression coming over her features.

"Did I tell you what that bastard did?!" she yelled as she got off the bed. There had been more than one occasion that she had woken up here. His face fell, she didn't see though.

"Um…Billy, right?" he asked uncertainly as he turned away.

She shook her head. "No, no—he was three _months_ ago!—I'm talking about John! The dumbass! I don't know why I always go for those stupid _macho_ types—they're all testosterone and crap! I swear, I'm never gonna go for bastards like him again…" she muttered to herself.

Chrono, on the other hand, knew otherwise and turned to look at her skeptically.

"I'm not! Never again! They think I'm a freakin' whore or something and when I don't wanna go that far they piss off! For Christ' sake! That wasn't even our second date yet!" She yelled as she got up.

She looked around again, then down at herself. She was dressed in the same clothes she'd had on yesterday—and they _reeked_ of alcohol. She blanched as she smelled herself and then looked over at Chrono helplessly. He let out a tired sigh, like he'd done this multiple times before and was getting very tired of this routine—which he was, ever since they'd been friends he'd always done this.

"Grab some clothes from my drawer—I think there might be some boxers and a t-shirt that might fit you—and go take a shower. I'm going to brush my teeth and stuff, then I'll get breakfast started, okay?" He asked unenthusiastically.

She grinned up at him and he couldn't help but smile back. Rosette had always had that affect about her. He walked out and closed the door behind him.

Rosette watched as Chrono closed the bedroom door and looked around the room once more. This was Chrono's room that she was in. Why hadn't he just dumped her on the coach? The idiot probably slept on the coach last night because she had been sleeping in here… She sighed and started towards the dresser drawer on the far side of the room. This room was familiar to her. She'd been here enough times before. Chrono had always been a good girlfriend.

She looked through the top drawer and randomly pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. She started for the door.

As she came up to the bathroom door that was cracked open she decided that Chrono must have already finished up and gone to the kitchen part of his apartment. She was wrong. As she opened the door she saw that Chrono had not yet finished and was standing in front of the big mirror shaving himself. He glanced over at her shocked form.

"Oh, hey, Rosette. I'll be done in just a sec, 'kay?" he said, offhandedly as he turned back towards his reflection.

Rosette was still in amazed shock as she looked at him. Chrono? Shaving? She'd never thought he shaved! He was so…girlish. When they'd first met she'd actually thought he was a girl because he'd had his long dark hair down, was wearing a skirt, and was being dragged around by an older looking boy.

She shook her head. "Uh, yeah, yeah. Take your time." she mumbled as she studied him. He glanced a few times at her with raised eyebrows as he finished up. Chrono couldn't really understand the expression on Rosette's face.

"I already got you a towel." He said as an afterthought as he left the bathroom.

"Thanks." He heard her muffled reply through the door and started towards the kitchen. Time to start breakfast.

Rosette looked at the towel hanging on the rack just beside the shower and stripped her clothes. Laying the borrowed boxers and t-shirt on the toilet cover, she turned on the water and got in.

As the water ran over her body she thought about the first time she had met Chrono…

"_I don't _want_ to go over there!" She heard a voice whine as she walked towards the store door. She was heading towards a lingerie store to buy new panties and the voice had caught her attention. She looked over to see that a younger looking girl in a knee-length pleated skirt with long dark purple hair was also being dragged there by a guy who looked a little older than them with long white hair. That must be the girl's boyfriend or something, she thought._

_She watched as the girl continued to whine. "C'mon, let's get out of here. _Please._"_

_The guy with white hair shook his head as he continued to drag the younger looking girl towards the lingerie store. He grinned as he spotted her watching them and leaned over to whisper to the girl. The girl looked up and blushed as she caught her eyes. The girl, Rosette noted, had dark maroon colored eyes. _

_The blonde briskly headed towards them, an angry-protective expression on her face. "Hey, you," she said as she pointed a finger up to the chest of the man with long white hair, "The girl just said she doesn't want to go over there so stop already, okay." Her voice was raised above normal—which was pretty loud, considering that her normal voice was already loud. Rosette glance towards the girl and grabbed her wrist, dragging her out of the store and towards the food court. The girl turned to look back once, then followed her helplessly. If Rosette had just looked back she would've seen the guy with white hair wink at the girl she was dragging after her. _

"_So, what's your name; that your boyfriend back there?" she asked, nonchalantly, as she slurped her milkshake._

_The girl blushed. "Uh-um…no." Rosette blinked over at her._

"_He's not? Then why was he dragging you around. Was he, like, your boyfriends' brother or something and just wanted your advice on lingerie?" she joked. Well, that _had_ happened before to her though. Her (ex)boyfriend's brother had taken her to a lingerie store and asked her what he should buy for his girlfriend for their anniversary._

_She could see the girl across from her turn redder and leaned in, in interest. "So…?" she asked._

_The girl gave a short cough as she said, "That…was my brother. My stupid, idiotic brother…" she heard the girl mutter the last part as if to herself._

"_And…?" Rosette encouraged the girl to go on._

"_And, uh," the girl was very flushed now for some reason Rosette didn't get, "A-and I'm Chrono. I-I'm a _boy_." The girl-now-turned-boy muttered. _

_Nah-uh. Rosette reached across the table and felt the girl-boy-whatever's chest. It was flat._

_She leaned back down into her seat. "No kidding." She muttered as her face flushed._

That must have been one of the most interesting ways to meet someone—ever. Chrono had explained to her that it was on a dare that he'd had to wear a _skirt_ out in public and be dragged around by none other than his brother, Aion. She'd had a good laugh at that. It was just too funny—and the weird part was: he actually looked pretty good in a skirt. She let out a little laugh in the shower as she pictured that day. After that they'd become friends. She's always seen him like her other girlfriends, probably because of how they'd met.

Well, whatever. She smiled happily as she got out of the shower. She felt nice and clean now—and didn't reek of the alcohol. And her headache didn't seem so bad anymore.

After she'd dry herself off she reached for Chrono's clothes. As she pulled his boxers up and put the t-shirt on she noted that she had made a big miscalculation. The boxers were just barely clinging to her waist and the grey t-shirt was hanging loosely off her left shoulder.

Funny. She'd always thought that she and Chrono wore the same size. She headed towards the sink to dry and fix her hair. Chrono should have a hair dryer around here somewhere shouldn't he? He had really long hair, after all.

She pulled the hair dryer out from its hiding place and started blow drying her hair. When she was finished she stuffed the dryer back under the sink. As she was getting back up she noticed something. A box of condoms.

Oh-oh-oh, she thought with a mischievous smile as she reached a hand to search inside the box.

Her face fell as she felt the box, empty but for two that were left in there still unused. So he had been using these then, huh? She'd never thought he'd actually get _laid _before. She didn't know why she didn't like that thought.

She put the box back in place as she hurried out of the bathroom.

She stopped at the door and watched Chrono's back as he worked. She didn't notice how broad his back had been before. But, then again, she'd never thought to look.

He turned around. "Oh, Rosette, breakfast will be ready in a minute, okay? Why don't you sit down." he motioned towards the little table next to the window. She headed towards a chair and sat, continuing to watch him as her thoughts whirled in her head.

"There." He said as he set the dishes onto the table in front of her. She watched as he put three pancakes onto a plate and put butter on it as he poured maple syrup over it. He put a spoonful of eggs and two slices of bacon beside it and slid the dish towards her as he poured a cup of milk from the carton. She picked absentmindedly at the food as her eyes slid back and forth from the plate to Chrono who was also eating his own plate of food across from her.

"What's the matter, Rosette?" Chrono asked worriedly as he watched her pick at her food. "Does it taste alright? The food, I mean." He said as he continued to look at her with worry.

Well, now that she looked at him, he could probably easily get laid with anyone he wanted, she thought as she picked absently at her food. She looked at him again, for some reason he looked worried. His features were still the same but the babyish fat that had clung to his frame was gone—his features were still fine but…her thoughts trailed as she looked 

at him, then back to her food. He had grown and really changed from when they'd first met. And she'd never noticed that until now, she realized.

"Rosette!" she heard her name shouted. She shook herself out of her dazed thoughts and looked across the table at Chrono. "What." She muttered as she tilted her blushing face downwards. She could never admit she'd just thought that way of Chrono. Chrono… the girlish boy. Chrono…her best friend. And Chrono…her girlfriend. She could not believe she had just thought of him that way. Damn! She shook her head again.

In a stronger voice than necessary she repeated irately, "What?!"

Chrono was looking at her as if she'd grown another head. She pulled at the hair on her scalp and blew out a puff air.

"Are you okay?" he asked again.

Instead of answering, Rosette stated, "You shave."

Chrono looked at her, bewildered. "Yeah…?"

"And your clothes," she continued, stating the obvious, "They're too big."

"Do you want me to find you something else then?" he asked.

"Your face is…."she continued without answering him, "your face is…not…girly anymore…"

"Okaaay…" he agreed uncertainly.

"And," she said, now counting on her finger, "You have a box of condoms in your bathroom that are all used up."

She glanced at his blushing face as she stated, "You're different."

Chrono could not help but blush when she'd said that last thing with such a straight face. He looked up at her as she continued.

"You're different and I haven't even noticed…"

"Rosette," he sighed as his blush faded away, "There are a lot of things you don't notice. Did you even know I had a girlfriend until…" he paused wondering if he should tell her the truth, "Until a few weeks ago?" he lied. It had really been yesterday that they had broken up. His (ex)girlfriend had been…angry at him when he'd come home—with Rosette in tow.

Her head shot up as she looked at him. "You did?" she asked.

Tiredly, with his head resting on his palm, he nodded. "I did."

"Well, dummy, tell me." she insisted. "Tell me who it was, c'mon."

"Oh, it was just a girl…" he answered.

"No, it was guy." Rosette replied sarcastically. "Well, whatever then. She must have been really pretty anyways—why'd you break up?" she asked.

Chrono looked at Rosette, then down to the milk he was swirling around in the glass. "Because…" he paused, stopping the swirling motion of the milk as he glanced down at the still cup, "She wasn't really the one I wanted. The one I'd wanted doesn't even know I like her." He answered vaguely. "She's so dense." He mumbled as he looked at Rosette, 

then turned his gaze towards the window. He really wasn't looking outside; he was looking at her reflection. She seemed puzzled…and a little sad.

"Huh? Really?" a fake smile made its way onto her face, he always knew when she was faking like right now, "Well, tell me who it is, the one you really like. C'mon!" she begged as she pulled his sleeve insistently, that grin still plastered to her face.

And he couldn't help but chuckle. Really, she could be so dense.

"Should I spell it out for you?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever; just _tell_ me already, Chrono! You're so mean!" she punched the side of his arm lightly as she raised her fist, daring him to not tell her. He raised his hands up as he laughed. "Okay, okay! Don't hurt me, I surrender! I'll tell you!" He smiled as she pulled back and sat down in her seat.

"I should spell it out for you then?" he asked again. She nodded.

He looked her straight in the eyes as he sobered. He was really nervous. Really, really nervous. But he managed to keep his voice from stuttering as he said:

"Y-O-U."

**--END--**

**A/N: Hope you liked it! XD Oh, and please REVIEW! tell me what you thought of it!**


	2. Rain and Reason

**A/N: This is dedicated to poshpuppy-chan and MRA--because they wanted me to write another chapter to this. :D and Puppy-chan put this story on alert. I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

"I should spell it out for you then?" he asked again. She nodded.

He looked her straight in the eyes as he sobered. He was really nervous. Really, really nervous. But he managed to keep his voice from stuttering as he said:

"Y-O-U."

* * *

**Manly Men & "Girl" Friends:**

**Rain and Reason**

She sat down and grinned absently at him. "Oh…really?" she asked.

Then what he'd said sunk in. The fork that the blonde held in her hand dropped to the plate, creating an eerie echo in the now-silent room as her jaw fell open in an unsightly surprised fashion. She was frozen.

"W-what?" she croaked out after it felt like an eternity had passed them by, "What…did you say?"

"Rosette…" Chrono drawled out her name as he exhaled a sigh. He took the fork that Rosette had just dropped and cut at a piece of the pancake. With gentle stab at it the pancake stayed on the end of the fork. He lifted up the fork and leaned over the table as he put it into Rosette's gaping mouth. With a hand he closed her mouth, taking out the fork, and ordered, "Chew."

She obediently did what he said. Shaking her head after she swallowed the food as if to shake herself out of a daze, the blonde exclaimed, "Chrono! I'm serious, dummy! C'mon!"

Chrono was not being serious, Rosette thought, annoyed. He was teasing her! And she was even being serious, for cripes sake! A vein started to throb on her forehead at his next words. "I'm being serious." With a puff of air she got up, turned on her heels, and started towards the door.

"Fine. I'll be going then, Mr. Serious." She huffed out angrily as she stalked towards the exit.

Chrono got up and followed after her, but before he could even reach her, she was already out the door and he could hear the pitter-patter of her feet as she stalked away. He chuckled darkly to himself. Maybe he shouldn't have told her…? His mind wound back to the day before with his now-ex-girlfriend…

_He half-dragged, half-carried a very drunk and slurring Rosette down the hallway and towards his apartment. His girlfriend might still be there… He thought about a little bit earlier when Rosette had called, already drunk, and pleaded with him to come pick her up. _

_--Flashback--_

_The sound of the telephone rang out through the entire apartment, catching his ear as he sat on the other end of the coach from his girlfriend. Slowly getting up, he made his way to the annoying ringing phone that had interrupted the movie he was watching—well, he was really paying attention to the movie, but… "I'll be right back, you go ahead and keep watching." he murmured as he passed by the girl on the coach. She nodded to him. _

_The girl watched as Chrono headed towards the phone. His mind hadn't seemed to be on the movie at all… She turned back to the TV. But then was interrupted as her boyfriend yelled into the phone, "ROSETTE!?" she saw as he turned to glance at her then turn away as she heard his panicky voice whisper into the receiver._

"_Rosette, where are you?" Chrono had a look of total concern on his face, she noted sadly, one that he didn't have for her—his girlfriend. Of course Chrono was always a gentleman, and polite, but… She turned to look at him again. He wasn't like _this_. He wasn't ever _this_ worried or concerned. _

_She heard a few more hushed words said rapidly into the phone then the smack of the phone as it was loudly (and clumsily) put back onto the stand._

"_I have to go. Um," he bit his lip as he looked around, "You can stay if you want. I'll be right back though, okay?" She nodded as he pulled on his coat—it _was_ early-autumn, after all._

_As the door slammed behind his disappearing footsteps she remembered the words they'd traded a few times before:_

"_You're…thinking…about somebody else, aren't you?" She'd ask attentively when she saw him deep in thought or something of the like_

_He'd look at her with guilt, then answer with his face looking down, "No."_

_She knew he was lying though. She knew he had somebody else on his mind—in his heart. She turned back to the TV and flicked off the movie. Chrono had said he'd only be gone a few minutes… Maybe she should wait, give him a kiss before she left. She flicked the TV back on and started watching the movie again. _

_Meanwhile Chrono was having a grand time taking Rosette out of the bar and strapping her grumbling self into the seat of his hybrid. _

_--End Flashback--_

_And that brought us to where we were. _

_Rosette stumbled and tripped, almost bringing Chrono crashing to the ground with her. Her laughter could be heard throughout the hallway as she slurred, "I sorry, I sorry" to him. _

_Chrono tightened his grip around her waist and, with his other hand, searched his pockets for his house keys. He wished she wouldn't get so drunk over some stupid man… It wasn't that she did this _everytime_, but…he hated to see her like this because of some stupid guy who thought she was an easy lay or something like that._

_As he stuck his keys into the keyhole the door opened up and revealed that his girlfriend was still here and had been waiting for him. He managed a smile at her. "Thanks." He huffed as he pulled Rosette past._

_He started dragging her towards his room—this was only a one-room apartment, after all—he didn't want her to sleep on the coach. Maybe he was just being overprotective? He shrugged off the thought as he pushed open the door to his room and towards the bed in the center. With one hand he removed the covers of the bed, then laid her down on her side over the sheets, taking off her shoes, socks, and coat off before pulling the blankets back over her. _

_Her breaths evened out, and as his hand softly brushed away a few strands of blonde bangs away from her face, he smiled gently down at her form. _

"_Chrono." He snapped out of his little daze and back into reality. He had a girlfriend, and she was looking sadly at him. Sad and betrayed. "We…" she trailed off, then seemed to realize something and turned back to face him, "We need to talk." She finished._

_He nodded and got up. At the door he turned to glance one more time at Rosette before closing it and following his girlfriend into the living room part of his apartment._

"_Yeah?" he asked. _

"_Chrono…" she was turned away, facing the door, "Don't lie anymore. Please?" She begged._

_Chrono looked ashamedly down into his carpeting. He had tried. Really, he had tried very hard to love her. He had. And he knew she deserved love—she deserved someone who would love her with all his heart and soul, his body and mind and his everything. Not someone like him._

"_I…" she began, "No matter how hard you try to deny it, I…I know there's somebody else always on your mind…there's somebody else in your heart… And I don't know who she is, but she's…you're… It's all right." she turned back to face the dark haired man, "I think we should break up." she whispered._

_Chrono couldn't bring himself to look at the girl. He could hear the tears in her voice. He could hear the tremble and shake of it as she tried to hold it back. He closed his eyes and fisted his hands tightly. He had to let her go. _

"_I'm sorry," he finally whispered, "I'm so sorry. You deserved better…"_

_He finally looked up and into the woman's dimly lit blue eye. "You deserved so much better…Mary…" _

_The woman nodded with a trembling smile on her lips. "Yeah. Be happy, okay, Chrono? You better tell her…" the woman looked pointedly towards his bedroom door. As she turned around she headed for the exit of the apartment. She stood a moment at the open doorway and a tear slipped from her eyes. She had suspected this…she had, so she shouldn't have been surprised. It still hurt though. Chrono…he was always so much more natural and…happy around the other blonde, it really wasn't such a surprise. She closed the door behind her and left. _

Chrono remembered as he watched her hail a taxi and get in. He started towards the window and looked out—only to see Rosette hailing a taxi exactly where he had seen Mary the night before doing the same, and a sense of déjà vu hit him. He sneered to himself. Two women in just one day. Wow. He was quite the woman repellant.

As a taxi stopped in front of her Rosette leaned in the window, about to tell the driver where to go when she remembered; she was in Chrono's clothes and did not have any money to get home. Rosette sighed. "Never mind." She grumbled to the cab driver as she got back out. Damn. Now she'd have to walk home, she thought. "Well, might as well hurry then," she muttered quietly to herself as she started walking the long way home. And as the autumn wind suddenly blew her with a cold blast of air she brought her hands up and, crossing them across her chest, clung tightly at her sleeveless arms.

Chrono watched questioningly as Rosette started walking down the sidewalk with her arms crossed. She was going to try walking home! He realized with alarm. She could be such an idiot sometimes! And it was cold out there today! He'd seen the weather yesterday and it had said it was going to be a cooler than usual, and—oh, shit, he pulled on his coat, and his shoes and ran out the door—and they'd said there were going to be rain showers that might start in late morning and last till the late evening, if it did not rain all night!

As he exited the apartment building he could already see the very overcast skies above and felt the cold chill of the wind as it blew around him; only made colder and stronger by the fact that he was running.

He ran down the way he had seen her headed. Did she really intend to _walk_ the entire home? He smacked his head with the back of his hand. Of course she would. That's how she was. He speeded up.

"Sorry," he muttered as he bumped into the busy people around him, constantly looking around for Rosette's back, "Pardon me. Sorry. Excuse me," he didn't even take a moment to look at who he was apologizing to. He could hear some angry mutters in his wake, but he paid no mind. He needed to find Rosette.

Suddenly he saw a blonde head in his view. With speed, and not caring about who he was bumping into anymore, he ran up to the figure. He reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulder. "Rosette." he huffed out between pants.

"Huh?" he heard. Then the figure turned around—and he found out that this person wasn't Rosette at all, it was some random stranger. "Are you okay?" the stranger asked, confusion and concern showing on her face.

Slowly, he nodded his head as he took his hand from her shoulder and rested it on his knees. "Y-yeah…sorry," he got up, "I thought you were…someone else…" he finished as he walked past her. With a few steps he started jogging again.

He was a block away from his apartment now, and nearing the southern promenade of the Hudson River Park when he spotted her form walking beside the railing, and, from time to time, glancing at the river—he was sure it was Rosette this time; she was still wearing his boxers—that he noted _did_ seem like they would fall off any moment now—and the his t-shirt—he also noted that the shirt seemed to be sliding off her shoulders. She was really right when she'd said his clothes didn't fit—and she also stood out like a sore thumb in them, out here where everyone was dressed in jackets or long sleeves, and long pants.

He started jogging up after her. He figured that he'd run this far, he might as well slow down a little now that she was in sight.

Rosette heard the sound of feet thumping across pavement behind her turned to see who it was. She looked in astonishment as she saw that it was none other than Chrono. Her face twisted in anger—and fear. Though, why, she wouldn't admit.

She snapped her head back around and started running. Humph! So he thought he'd come and…and…and _play_ with her more, huh!? She angrily ran forward, not caring to see if he had stopped or kept running after her.

**KA-KA-BOOM!**

She stopped only for a moment and looked up to notice that the sky was clouded and dark. She hadn't even noticed the whole way here!

She started running again. She felt the first raindrop as it fell from the sky to drop onto her head. Then she felt another. And another. Suddenly the rain was pouring down on her. She felt as the wetness slid down her face to join the rest on the now-wet ground. Puddles were forming as the rain hit the pavement, and she ran through them, getting herself dirty in her desperate escape from Chrono.

Chrono ran after her. His feet thudded loudly as the met with the ground, and his shoes seemed to squeak as every time he took another step. His shoes were getting more and more soggy as he continually stepped back onto the wet pavement as he sped after Rosette's disappearing form.

"Rosette!" he finally shouted as he slowed to a jog again, panting as he tried to keep moving. The rain was pouring down on them and soaking not only their clothes, but them, too. The rain was soaking him to the bone—and he would bet it was doing the same to Rosette, too.

"ROSETTE!" he shouted. "Rosette! Wait!"

She kept running, though. Rosette kept running. This was what she was good at, after all: running. So she kept at it. She kept running. She would not wait. She hated waiting.

Finally, out of breath, and sure that she was far from Chrono, she stopped. She leaned over the railing as she sucked air in greedily, her head bent down to keep the rain from running into her open mouth. When she'd gained back her breath 

she tilted her head up and looked across the river. Looked at the river as the rain fell from above and created ripple after ripple on the surface of the water. She turned her face up and took a glance at the still gloomy sky before looking out across the water again.

Chrono stood from a distance as he watched her stop and look out across the water, at the sky, then back at the water. He didn't know what he should do. Should he confront her? Or…should he just let her be? After a moment of contemplation he decided the former.

Nervous and unsure of if his decision was right, he headed towards her.

"Rosette…" he called as he stood motionless just a few feet behind her form. She seemed to tense up right before his eyes as he'd called her name. "Rosette, listen," he pleaded, "Just listen. Okay? Don't judge me or say anything until I'm done explaining, okay?" with no answer from her he took that as a yes.

"I…" he stuttered one step closed to her, "Rosette, do you remember when we met? …I remember when we first met." He chuckled, "You looked like you were on a mission to rescue me.

"And…and then, somehow, you became…my…my best friend. And when I dated someone…I found myself wishing that it was you that was with me; not the person next to me, but you. Even when I met my first love again and we started dating again. I…still liked her. I did. But I still wished it was…you…that was there… And I found that I liked you more than I should have…that I liked you more than a friend…

"I…didn't want to admit it, so I…I pretended, Rosette." he heaved a sigh as he moved to stand next to her; he looked out into the water, too. "I didn't want to lose your friendship. It was like when I met you…I don't know." He heaved a tired sigh at not being able to explain himself, "I don't know… Even though I had friends and family around me, I never felt like I belonged there, like they wouldn't understand me…or something…

"But…I…couldn't pretend anymore, not when…not when someone had pointed it right out in my face. So…" he trailed off, waiting for a response from Rosette. He continued to stare blankly out into the river.

She listened to his words. Chrono never was good at explaining his feelings, but, then again, neither was she. Rosette stood motionless as silence, except for the sound of the rain hitting the pavement and the far off cars, engulfed them. She was always…always…running. But she couldn't anymore. There were more pains than her own.

She turned to her side and saw as Chrono mirrored her actions of just a few minutes ago, staring out into the murky gray river with his hands clasped together over the railing.

**KA-KA-BOOM!**

A flash of lightning was seen over the river as she walked the few feet between them in seconds and pulled him into a hug, tightening her hold on him as she pressed her face into the side of his face. With a hand she gently pulled his neck down to hide his face in the crook of her neck, as she hid herself in his hair.

Chrono closed his eyes and let himself be engulfed in her tight embrace. He suddenly heard the sound of Rosette's sniffle and he pulled back to look at Rosette. As he held her at arms-length he saw that her face was downturned and a sad smile made its way to his face. So…he was rejected, huh?

Rosette suddenly chuckled. "I…just realized something." she muttered.

"What did you realize?" he asked, wishing she'd just get it over with and say that she didn't like him that way.

"The reason I've always dated those…manly men type." She answered.

"And that is…?" he asked, wondering where she was going with this.

"And that is…" Rosette brought her hands up and put them on each side of Chrono's face, pulling his face downwards. When had he gotten so tall? She wondered to herself. As she pulled his face down, she pushed her forehead against his, a little smile on her face as her eyes closed. "That is because I didn't want to admit why…I was dating the type of guy that I was…"

"_Rosette, remember: don't _ever_ fall in love, it will make you weak—and if you are weak, you are nothing. Your father was weak and he fell in love; look where that got him—six feet underground and no wife to take care of his children."_

The voice reverberated around in her head. That's what her grandmother had said repeatedly after her father died and her mother…disappeared. She wouldn't fall in love, that's why she'd dated all those…shallow, macho men. Because she would never fall in love with any of them. Because she didn't want to fall in love—falling in love made people weak, she couldn't afford to be weak.

And she had never realized the real reason behind her unconscious actions before. She hadn't wanted to.

She shook her head against his. "But…in all my mistakes…I did something…

**KA-KA-BOOM!**

"…right…" Lightning flashed, a silver blue light illuminating her as she leaned up and pressed her lips onto his. Water dripped down her wet hair and she could feel it as it ran down her face, she could feel as the water ran down his face, too. She pulled back, opening her eyes, and looked at him a moment.

It was his turn. He could decide at this moment if they stayed friends or became more. It was up to him, Rosette decided.

An eternity seemed to pass and she was about to turn away when she felt his hand reach out and hold her chin.

"Rosette…" Chrono murmured as he pulled her closer, into his embrace. He'd thought that for sure she'd rejected him. So it was quite a surprise when she'd kissed him—he'd had to take a _long_ moment to digest all that had happened. But when he had…

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers in a reassuring kiss.

The rain pattered around them and the lightning flashed as he pulled her back and took off the coat he had on, slipping it around her shoulders and pulling the hood over her head, before he pulled her back into his embrace.

…

"Ah-AHCHOO!"

Needless to say, they'd gotten sick.

"Aahhh…" Rosette whined, "I hate this. It's so boring!"

Chrono smiled wryly at her as he blew his runny nose. "Tell me about it." he responded in a stuffy voice.

Rosette laughed. "Chrono, your voice sounds funny!"

Chrono pouted. "Humph," he glanced at her and sneered, "So does yours."

"Chrono…" the blonde drawled warningly.

A warning Chrono chose to ignore. "And your nose is all red, Rudolph."

Yep, he knew he was in for a pounding now—if Rosette was up to it anyway. He laughed.

* * *

**END Manly Men & "Girl" Friends: Rain and Reason**

**A/N: There's the kiss for you, cosmic imaginer. (that's if you're reading this, that is.) So how was it? I was thinking about turning this little runaway one-shot(turned-two-shot) into a five chapter thing about five important events in their life together...? What do you think? Tell me if I should continue or not, okay? Review!**


	3. NOTE TO THE READERS: Please Read

**TO THE READERS OF **_**Manly Men & Girl Friends:**_

Dear Readers of _Manly Men & Girl Friends,_

I'm sorry this isn't another chapter for MM&GF. I just wanted you to know, in case you were still waiting, that MM&GF will remain complete as is. This may come off as egotistical or whatnot, but someone just reviewed and asked if I would continue because of what I put in the author note at the end of chapter two, and I realized I really should put something up to tell you I would not be writing any more for this story. I had some ideas for this story, really. But…I don't have the time to configure it all into this, so I decided to mix it with another plot I had going, for another story, because _that_ story I _DO_ plan on finishing. (That's _More Than Once_, if you're interested.) I'm sorry to disappoint you, if you were waiting for another chapter and this is what you found. Yeah, I hope you guys aren't too annoyed that I waited so long to tell you. Honestly, I forgot. I'd posted it onto my profile that this was going to remain a two-shot, but…anyways! Yeah. That's it guys. Thanks for sticking with this story! I really appreciate that. ^-^

--WREI


End file.
